1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to poultry handling systems and, more particularly, is directed towards a system and apparatus for permitting the easy loading and transportation of poultry from the poultry house to another location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art suggests many different forms of poultry trailers, poultry handling systems, and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,963, for example, illustrates a trailer for chickens which includes a plurality of individually openable compartments for storing the chickens therein. Other prior art United States patents of which I am aware which describe different types of poultry trailers include: 3,476,084; 3,173,564; 2,099,774; and 3,940,174.
Each of the structures described in the above-cited references are of limited usefulness, however, inasmuch as they are directed solely towards a means for transporting the poultry from one location to another. That is to say, such patents do not suggest or disclose any convenient means for loading the trailers or trucks therein described, other than simply by manually placing the individual birds one-by-one into the poultry compartments, a task which requires not an inconsiderable amount of time when the distance between a parked trailer and the poultry house is large.
Several other patents of which I am aware suggest solutions to the poultry handling problems above-described in setting forth systems and devices for facilitating and thereby speeding up the unloading and loading of poultry on the trailer. Exemplary of this class of United States patents includes: 3,621,818; 3,706,300; and 3,916,835.
The above-cited patent to Johnston et al (3,621,818) merely sets forth a trailer which includes a plurality of chicken coops or cages which may be tilted while on the trailer to facilitate the unloading of the fowl contained in the coops. The second-cited Reynolds patent (3,706,300) is directed towards a rather complex conveyor belt type of system for loading the poultry directly from the poultry house onto the truck, while the last-named Wessinger patent (3,916,835) discloses an air-pressure operated poultry transfer means which literally sucks the poultry onto or off of a compartmented trailer or truck.
While each of the devices described in the above-cited patents may be advantageous in certain situations, overall they suffer from several deficiencies, not the least of which includes their high cost, undue complexity, low reliability, and general lack of efficiency. The conveyor belt and air-pressure operated systems, in particular, are prone to mechanical failure and concomitant breakdown time which reduces their attractiveness as an efficiency increasing system for handling poultry. Further, the length of the conveyors is indeed limited such that the truck or trailer being loaded or unloaded must of necessity be able to park in close proximity to the poultry house from or to which the chickens or other poultry are to be transferred. Electrical power is required to operate the power-assist devices, which adds further to the cost, complexity, and limits the universal usefulness of such devices in remote areas.
It is therefore apparent that a need exists for a simplified, efficient, and generally improved manner of handling poultry from the poultry house to the trailer for transportation to distant points.
Other United States patents in this same general art area of which I am aware include: 1,374,120; 2,474,932; and 3,892,201.